Subs lift McGrady-less Rockets by Magic

Published 6:30 am, Tuesday, January 25, 2005

In a final irony to torment Orlando one more time, neither the Rockets nor the Magic had Tracy McGrady on Monday.

The Magic missed him more.

The Magic eventually did get Steve Francis going. But with McGrady attending to a family medical emergency, the Rockets plugged in Jon Barry and could hardly tell the difference in an 89-78 win over the Magic on Monday at Toyota Center, or as Francis might call it, "The House that Steve-O Built."

Barry came off the bench to make seven of 10 shots for a season-high 19 points to go with six rebounds and five assists. While he had his best game with the Rockets, four other players also scored in double figures, and the Rockets suffocated the Magic offense long enough to move four games better than .500 for the first time this season.

"Coach asked us do we think we have enough in this room to win," Barry said. "Evidently, we did. We played with great urgency in the first half and were able to hold on.

That got teammate David Wesley giggling. Less certain, however, is how long someone other than McGrady will have to lead the Rockets.

The Rockets announced only that McGrady had to miss the game because of the emergency. They did not say whether he would be on today's flight or with the team in New Orleans on Wednesday.

McGrady attended the team's Monday morning shootaround and planned to be back for the game when he left Toyota Center at 12:30 p.m. Rockets players did not learn that McGrady would be out until they arrived at the arena for the game. But from the opening minutes, they did not seem in any way undermanned.

"I think you underestimate professional athletes in that they think they can win no matter who's there," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "So do I. Obviously, you never want to miss someone of Tracy's magnitude over a period of time. But in any one-game situation ... you can overcome anybody's loss."

From the start Monday, the Rockets played urgent, shutdown defense. They cut off the drives to the rim with which Francis had torched them in Orlando. Then they got on the boards enough to make all that defense work for them.

Magic hit a low

The Magic's 27 first-half points were the fewest in franchise history and just a 3-pointer more than the fewest the Rockets have ever allowed in any half. By then, Francis had outscored McGrady by two, the Magic had made 11 of 37 shots and the Rockets had led by as much as 21.

"This is a heck of a scoring team," Barry said of the Magic, seventh in the NBA in scoring. "They have a lot of great offensive players. To hold them to 27 is a heck of a defensive effort."

To do that, the Rockets had to limit Francis to jumpers.

"It takes a little determination," David Wesley said. "You try to stay in front as much as you can. It helps to have good defensive people behind you. I can't take full credit for keeping him out of the paint. He had to see something behind me and said, 'I can't get there.' "

While the Magic were missing shots, the Rockets scored easily. When Orlando shifted into a zone with the Rockets' lead at 11, Barry hit a pair of jumpers, and Dikembe Mutombo scored inside before Barry sent a no-look alley-oop to Mutombo for a layup.

The Magic made just one of their last 10 shots of the first half, with Yao Ming knocking down a jumper and Wesley two free throws to take the lead to 48-27.

The Rockets could not maintain that offensive pace. The Magic sent stronger double teams at Yao. The Rockets, especially Rod Strickland, could not hit the outside shots the Magic gave them.

But Barry dropped in a 3 and then another jumper to send the Rockets to the fourth quarter with a 16-point lead, so that even when the Magic began scoring at their usual rate to pull as close as seven, it was too late.

Barry the key

"When you're missing as many points as Tracy's been (scoring) recently, you try to figure out how you're going to score," Van Gundy said. "Jon did a great job giving us a cushion early and also when we were dead in the water in the third (quarter). Making those two big baskets late gave us a cushion going into the fourth."

While Barry had his best offensive night, Yao continued his recent offensive surge by making nine of 14 shots for 22 points with 10 rebounds. As he had in Orlando, Bob Sura chased a triple double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

And if none of those numbers quite matched typical McGrady numbers, they were enough to let him have a last laugh even on a night he wasn't there.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com

Rockets Summary

Presidential stories

Former President Bush attended the Rockets' game against the Magic on Monday and sat in the courtside seats next to the Rockets bench, near where coach Jeff Van Gundy normally stands.

It was the third time Van Gundy has met a president or former president.

"I'll sit down for him," Van Gundy said. "Richard Nixon came to a Knicks game and I was awed by a person that had that much power. (Bill Clinton) was unbelievable.

"When I met him ... in the little town we lived in in New York (Chappaqua). He came around the corner. When I say I ran smack into him, I mean smack into him. It was wild. I remember he said, `We should get together some time and talk about leadership.' I said, `That would be great.'

"He said, `I got to go to Asia for an economic summit.' Then), `I got to go to the Middle East.' I was thinking, `I got TNT Thursday.' This guy is talking about real things. I'm talking about the Pistons."

Francis happy

Former Rockets guard Steve Francis said he had no hard feelings on his return to Toyota Center, a facility he called "the gym I built by myself."

"The baskets are like an ocean to me here," he said.

But he said he is happy to have moved on.

"I don't hold any ill feeling," Francis said. "I signed a contract extension with the Rockets. They went their way. I went mine.

"When the trade happened I was upset because of my house situation. A lot of people told me they thought it would be the best thing for me, not saying there was anything wrong with the way Houston played.

"That was the way coach (Jeff) Van Gundy ran his team. It didn't fit me."

Told Francis has increased his shooting percentage because the Magic style suits him better than the Rockets' style did, Van Gundy would not be drawn into a debate.

Impressed with Badiane

Kasun played last season in Germany with the Rockets' 2003 second-round pick, Malick Badiane of Senegal.

"He's a good player," Kasun said, "a really good athlete, definitely a guy that can get a lot of rebounds ... If he keeps working hard, he can make it here, no doubt."

Press row view

For the Rockets to make up for the absence of Tracy McGrady's scoring, the key is not shooting. Well, it becomes shooting, but first it's passing. When the Rockets move the ball, it usually leads to shots they make. They had 22 assists on their 32 field goals on Monday. Though they wouldn't want to live without McGrady's scoring often, they showed how they can do it.

By the numbers

Orlando's 78 points were a season low, and the Magic's 27 first-half points were the fewest against the Rockets this season. ... The Rockets have had five players score in double figures in eight games, including both times against the Magic.